Passenger stuck on hantavirus-struck cruise ship makes emotional plea

5 May 2026 • 5:13 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Passenger stuck on hantavirus-struck cruise ship makes emotional plea

A passenger trapped on board a cruise ship off the coast of West Africa has issued an emotional plea as medics worked to evacuate people showing symptoms of the deadly hantavirus, after a suspected outbreak aboard that has killed three people.

“There's a lot of uncertainty, and that's the hardest part. All we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity, and to get home,” US travel blogger Jake Rosmarin said in a tearful Instagram video post from the ship on Monday (4 May).

"We're not just headlines, we're people with families.”

A British crew member is in need of “urgent” medical care while another Briton is undergoing treatment in intensive care following the suspected outbreak.

The cruise operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said a Dutch husband and wife, as well as a German national, had died.

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